Protective Instinct
by Amberdiamondswords
Summary: Orvus is in Meridian City for a little while, and one instinctive move to prevent a horrible accident puts him out of commission for a while. Mortal!Orvus AU. Details and context inside.


**Hello. Welcome to out-of-context junction, where my oneshots don't make any sense canonically. Also, no, I'm not dead. Bold of you to assume that I can die.**

**Alright, so, to put what you're about to read INTO context, several months ago, I started roleplaying on Tumblr. And the muse I created is an organic version of Orvus. I call him Mortal!Orvus. It plays off the beginning of my fic "His Past Whispers", where pirates attack the Great Clock. But I switched it up a bit and it gets a little confusing, but I'll try to explain it the best I can.**

**Orvus returned to the Clock a little while after Crack in Time, spending several years in the Zoni Dimension recovering from Nefarious' attack. After the events of Full Frontal Assault, a gang of pirates, Captain Slag's crew, attacks the Great Clock after getting its location from the Fongoids (they wanted Zoni treasures and tracked Zoni connections to the Fongoids). They come with sonic weaponry they pillaged from Terachnos, and they attack Orvus, weakening him greatly. Sigmund buys time for him to escape and Orvus uses the last of his energy to teleport away (he didn't have the energy to get to the Zoni Dimension). However, draining his powers through teleportation forced him to make a split second decision: turn himself into an organic. His powers are not depleted, but he remains safe in the current dimension because he is now an organic, though he is now stranded on an abandoned planet and has no powers nor a Zoni energy signature that other Zoni can sense. **

**After months of isolation, a Plumber just happens to show up to scrap a ship, which he gives to Orvus. This leads us to the leg of Orvus' journey that this story takes place in. He is currently looking for Ratchet and Clank so they can help him take the Clock back. **

**A lot has changed in Orvus appearance wise. His structure is different, giving him a more human-like body shape, he's 5 ft. 4 in. now. He wears actual clothes (in this story he's wearing a gray shirt, black pants, a black and blue jacket, black sandals (yes, sandals, they look cute), and round specs that sit on his nose. He's a full squishy now, meaning that he can experience warmth and cold and pain from things other than sonic weaponry. It's a whole new universe for him. **

**This oneshot is something I wrote a few months back for my RP blog and I decided to post it here because reasons. And because I might write more and I want the context out of the way. Hope you enjoy!**

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Orvus stepped out of the Intergalactic Museum of History, the fresh Meridian City air greeting him once he stepped down the stairs. The museum was one of his regular stops ever since he started exploring the universe. It was nice to have an occasional educational refresher. And seeing his son have his own exhibit, being called one of the greatest heroes of all time, made him so proud. Though he did his best to avoid the pirate exhibit. According to recent events witnessed by Orvus himself, Slag's rapping career didn't work out and he turned back to the pirate life.

But nothing in the museum offered him any knowledge of where Ratchet or Clank might be, despite his hopes. He didn't know what he expected. Museums told the past, not the present. Or the future for that matter. It looked like he would have to move on and look elsewhere once more. Though Orvus was sure that he would be back, he really liked that museum.

Deciding that there was nothing left for him in the area, Orvus decided to leave. Maybe he would pick up some supplies while he was in the city, though. Also some groceries. Really he needed quite a few things, so staying on Igliak for awhile longer seemed like the best thing to do. Honestly, he might as well find a hotel to stay at for the night. Thankfully he had stayed in Meridian City before so he knew where the hotel was located already.

_VROOOM!_

Orvus was startled out of his thoughts as the loud sounds of the traffic tunnel caught his attention. Ships and hovercars were traveling through the tunnel to quickly get to their destination. There were several gaps in the tunnel that allowed pedestrians to walk through to the other side. Walking through could be dangerous as some ship drivers disregarded the safety of others and sped through without letting others cross. People like them disgusted Orvus.

Orvus joined the small group of people waiting for traffic to clear so they could cross to the other side. He fiddled with the latches on his jacket, making sure they were secure because it could get rather windy in these tunnels.

"Come on, mom! We're almost there!"

Orvus antenna stood up and he looked up from his jacket as he heard the sound of a child's voice. He spotted a pair of Markazians across the tunnel, a mother and a child. The child didn't look like he could be older than eight. He was holding his mother's hand, slightly pulling her forward.

"Slow down, Noah. The museum isn't going anywhere," the mother told her excited son.

"What if it suddenly grows legs and then walks away?" Noah turned around and asked.

The mother chuckled, "I don't think that's going to happen."

Orvus smiled and chuckled a bit himself. He knew it was rude to listen to others' conversations, but he could not help it. Seeing a child so filled with wonder and excitement to go to the museum with his mother brought a sense of joy to Orvus. Maybe it was because he himself was a parent and wanted to imagine him and Clank like that.

Leaving the mother and child to themselves, Orvus looked to see if it was safe to cross. He looked both ways and saw a hovercar coming from the left, speeding down like the rest of the ships had. So he stepped back and waited for the car to pass in order to cross. However, Noah on the other side wasn't as patient. Noah saw the Intergalactic Museum of History on the other side of the tunnel and became too excited.

"There it is! Come on!" Noah said, releasing his mother's hand and running ahead, unheeding the incoming hovercar.

The mother gasped and reached forward, "Noah, wait! No!"

Orvus' eyes went wide as he saw the child run into traffic. It wasn't until he was far out that Noah saw the hovercar speeding towards him. The driver was attempting to slow down, but it was traveling to fast in order to stop on time. Noah panicked and tripped over himself, hitting the ground. The vehicle was coming. The child was going to get hit.

"NOAH!" His mother screamed.

Time seemed to slow down as Orvus instinctively reacted. Without thinking, he ran into traffic and grabbed Noah, shielding him with his body. He wrapped his arms around the child and prepared himself. Within that moment, he felt the impact of the vehicle.

What happened next was in a blurry flash. Orvus was limp on the ground several feet away, his conscience fading too quickly for him to feel the pain. Though his left arm did not feel right. Traffic stopped and voices were heard, several looking at him and then yelling for someone to call an ambulance. In the confusion, Orvus used what strength he had left to look for the child he had attempted to protect. He breathed a little easier when he saw Noah in the arms of his mother. He was alright...the child was...alright...

…

…

…

Orvus took in a sharp breath of air and shot up as he suddenly regained consciousness. It only took moments for him to regret that decision as he felt a horrible pain in his left arm. It was then he placed a hand on it that he realized that it was in a sling. Actually, Orvus was realizing and noticing a lot of things as his vision returned to him. He was laying in a bed and was hooked up to a bag of dripping liquid. And he noticed that he was in a teal robe of sorts and he still had his pants, but his shirt and coat were neatly folded on a chair nearby. From the smell of it, they had just been cleaned. There were sensors on his chest that were hooked up to a heart monitor, which beeped steadily with his heart rate. There was no doubt about it at this point, he was at a hospital. It was strange, he had never been to one before. It was oddly cozy and uncomfortable at the same time.

As Orvus tried to gather his thoughts, the door to the room opened. A Cazar walked in holding a clipboard. He looked up at Orvus and almost looked surprised, "Oh, look who's awake! I'm Doctor Liam, by the way."

The mortal Zoni rubbed his forehead, his mind still foggy. He muttered, "What happened…?"

"Well, you can certainly take a hit from a hovercar, I can say that for certain."

"Hovercar? When did I...OH!" Orvus sat up as it all came back to him. That's right! He had jumped into traffic to save that Markazian child! He scooted forward a bit and looked at the doctor. "I remember now. The child, is he alright?"

"Oh, little Noah? With the exception of a few scrapes, he's just fine." The Doctor then gave Orvus a serious look, "But if you hadn't jumped in to protect him, he would be far from fine. You should be proud of yourself. If it wasn't for you, that kid would have been...well, in far worse condition than you are."

"Eh, what condition am I in, exactly?" Orvus asked, feeling the sling on his arm.

Dr. Liam looked through the papers on his clipboard and read off what they said, "According to your charts here, looks like you've got a broken arm and a few broken ribs. But there's nothing too serious or fatal. Actually, you should consider yourself lucky. That hit could have easily killed you."

The mortal Zoni almost went pale when he heard that the hit could have killed him. Close to death already...of course. He told himself to be careful, but it looked like this was a situation that he did not find the need to be careful in. It was just a sudden instinct that told him to protect the child. Perhaps being a father affected him in ways he didn't even realize.

The doctor noticed how distraught Orvus looked and decided to move on. "Anyway, what matters now is that you're here and alive. Though...we did hit a bit of an interesting and a bit of concerning wall with you. We couldn't find an ID on you. We scanned your face, but the facial recognition couldn't find you in the database. We couldn't find your medical history anywhere."

"O-Oh…" Orvus said, hiding his nervousness. Of course he didn't have any of that stuff, he became an organic only several months ago. He had never been to a hospital or a doctor before. This was the only time he ever actually needed one. But something told him they weren't going to let this go. Still hiding his nervousness, he turned to the doctor. "Well, I have never actually been to a doctor before, so...what do you need from me to fix that?"

Dr. Liam looked shocked upon hearing this. Never been to a doctor before?! There was no way this was true. Maybe they would find his medical history if they collected the usual information. "Well, we can just get a few simple things from you and build on your medical history from there. Can you tell me your first and last name for starters?"

"Oh, yes, it's Orv…" The mortal Zoni found himself shutting himself up. He couldn't tell anyone his real name. Everything about him had to stay a secret for his and the Zoni's protection. It was time to do one of his least favorite things: lie. "It's Orv..Orvac. Orvac...Mertahl. Yes, my name is Orvac Mertahl."

Orvus watched the doctor write down his extremely fake-sounding name. It was the best he could come up with on the spot. Though the next question made him feel even more nervous. The doctor looked up at him again, "Alright Orvac, can you tell me what race you are? We tried figuring it out for ourselves, but...to be honest, we don't know what you are. The closest we could get was Fongoid because of your markings. The antenna threw us off, too."

Oh no. Orvus thought of any traits he could share with other species in the universe. Fongoid could definitely be one of them. But what about the other? He could be a...hybrid? Yes, a hybrid! Orvus was honestly making it up as the words came out. He tried to sound as convincing as possible. "I'm a...Fongoid and...Markazian...hybrid. Yes. My father was a Fongoid and my mother was a Markazian. The antennae were just one of the many surprises that came with me and my hybrid body. I think they are some alternate version of the Fongoid horns."

That was honestly the best he could come up with. Markazian was the only other species he could think of. And Dr. Liam looked too bewildered to actually bring himself to ask any questions. This was awkward for both of them. The doctor finished writing before asking yet another question, "Interesting. Can you tell me your age?"

"Eh...twenty-five…" Orvus, the over 5000-year-old Zoni, lied.

After a bit more writing, Dr. Liam put his clipboard down, "Alright, that's all I need for now. I'll be right back."

The moment the doctor left the room, Orvus let out a large exhale and dropped back down onto his back, placing a hand on his forehead. That was short but stressful. He practically created a new identity for himself within the span of minutes. Orvac Mertahl, twenty-five-year-old Fongoid-Markazian hybrid. It wasn't too bad, but Orvus would much rather be himself.

A few minutes later, Dr. Liam returned with some supplies. He set them down on the counter and picked the first one up, which was a syringe. For some reason, Orvus felt himself tense up a bit, almost naturally, as he looked at the syringe. This was odd. Maybe he had a fear of needles like many other people did. It did look quite pointy…

"What is that for?" Orvus asked as the doctor came over to him.

"I'm going to draw some of your blood so we can record it and have it on record," Dr. Liam replied, taking Orvus' arm.

"That seems a little strange. What part of my blood would you need to record-OW!" The mortal Zoni squeaked as the needle went into his arm and took out some blood. He didn't expect the needle to hurt that much. And seeing his blood being taken out was almost enough to make him sick to his stomach.

"We need to analyze it and see what type it is. And...are you okay?" Dr. Liam asked with concern, putting the syringe of blood away.

Orvus looked pale as he laid back and took some breaths. That was a very unpleasant experience. And apparently, he didn't take the sight of blood very well. But he attempted to wave it off, "I'm...I'm fine."

"A lot of people have this reaction to having blood drawn for the first time, so don't worry."

"Oh, well I suppose I feel better then…" Orvus laid there for a few minutes, recollecting himself. A lot of things had happened already. And it looks like quite a bit of effort was being put in to help him recover. Wait...didn't he have to pay for all of this? Hospitals weren't a free service, after all. He sat up and questioned this. "You are doing a lot for me here...what is this going to cost me?"

"Oh, about that. I was going to tell you that your hospital bill has already been paid."

The mortal Zoni looked surprised. "What? How?"

Dr. Liam smiled slightly. "The family of the child you saved...they paid for it. And they wanted me to tell you 'thank you'."

Orvus could cry, but he fought back the urge to. He knew that this hospital bill was not cheap. The fact that the family paid for it before he had even regained consciousness...he didn't know what to say. "If you get the chance, please tell them that I say 'thank you' back."

"I will." The doctor grabbed an orange cup with a lid and took it over to Orvus, handing it to him. "Alright, get up. I need you to go into the bathroom with this cup."

"Um, okay...why?" Orvus asked, tilting his head a bit.

"Well…"

After a few hours of information collecting, Orvus was finally allowed to rest. He had just finished his dinner and put the tray aside so he could lay down. The painkillers he was given were helping him be a bit more comfortable, this his arm was still hurting.

Today had been an...interesting day. He never thought he would end up in a hospital. Much less having a broken arm, some broken ribs, having blood drawn and having to...put liquid in a cup...but he didn't want to think about that. Being an organic was definitely tough. He didn't have any bones to break when was a Zoni, he was just made of energy. But this...this was a whole new experience. But he wasn't sure if this had been a good or bad experience. He supposed he would decide when he looked back on this one day. At least he was being discharged from the hospital in a few days, though his arm would take a few weeks to heal. It was going to be a long road of recovery for him.

* * *

**So that was the story of Mortal!Orvus getting hit by a car. Fun fact: Orvus now has a scar on his arm from where the car hit him. And don't worry, he does recover. He gets nanotech injected straight into his bones a few days later. And you may think "wow, that sounds painful" and...well, it was. Orvus hated it. Worst pain he ever felt. He was not a happy boy.**

**If you guys want to learn more about Mortal!Orvus, you can check out my RP blog "mortal-orvus" on Tumblr and look at the Headcanons and Bio and stuff. It's cool, I promise. It's a very nice looking blog with a music player that doesn't work half the time (I'm too lazy to fix it).**

**Thanks for reading!**


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